As an adult child of an elderly parent in Kenosha, you’ve likely gone through many phases of adjustment after deciding that residing in a nursing a home was in his or her best interests. From serious physical or mental health conditions to urgent situations that develop after surgery, your reasons may be personal yet akin to others who have faced similar circumstances in the past.

If your mother or father has suffered some type of bodily injury or suspected neglect while under nursing home care, your emotions may have run the gamut from shock and grief to anger and frustration.

Common causal factors of nursing home abuse

There is absolutely no excuse for abusing an elderly person. No one could ever justify abusing your parent. While you are likely relieved your mother or father survived his or her injuries, your mind may be swimming with thoughts regarding how best to formally address the situation to protect your parent and others from similar abuse in the future. One or more of the following factors may be significant to your parent’s injuries:

• Overworked, understaffed nursing team: Working long hours or being short-staffed gives no one the right to provide substandard care to your loved one. However, data suggests extreme fatigue and inadequate staffing leads to many abuse situations.
• Cultural prejudice: Some cultures treat elderly persons as burdens. If the nursing home entrusted your parent to the care of a person whose background had inculcated this type of thinking, it may have caused a safety risk.
• Mental health condition in staff member: If a nurse or other staff member who has directly cared for your mother or father failed to take bipolar medication or experienced a crisis associated with some other mental health condition, it may be significant to the incident that caused your parent to suffer.

You and your parent have every right to expect the nursing home staff to adhere to the utmost level of all safety regulations and strict protocol with regard to any care provided to your parent in a nursing home.

Options available after an injury has occurred:

It would be nice if all elderly parents could prevent injury merely by carefully researching nursing homes and staffs ahead of time and making informed decisions regarding where to live. Reality, however, often involves less-than-perfect situations; in fact, sometimes even the best intentions are not enough to protect your parent from harm.

What can you do after the fact? You might consider these ideas:

• Report any suspicious bump, bruise, welt or other bodily injury your parent has suffered to nursing home superiors and local authorities, if necessary.
• Seek immediate counsel from an experienced personal injury attorney for guidance as to the best way to proceed to seek justice.
• Gather evidence and document as many details as possible regarding any and all incidents associated with your parent’s injury or illness.
• Allow your attorney to litigate the matter on your family’s behalf.

There is no way to presume a particular outcome if you go to court. Relying on skilled representation often produces satisfactory results. An experienced attorney can provide compassionate service to help protect your parent’s rights and seek legal accountability against the parties believed responsible for his or her suffering.